1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a displaceable, movable roof, of a vehicle comprising several roof elements in principle rigid, that can be displaced between a first position in which they cover the passenger compartment of the vehicle and a second position in which they expose this passenger compartment. It also relates to a convertible vehicle with a roof folding away towards the rear of the vehicle.
Generally, in said second position, the roof is stowed in the rear boot of the vehicle.
Such a roof notably allows to transform a saloon or coupe type vehicle into a convertible type vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
More precisely, it is a roof notably comprising a front roof element and a rear roof element, displaceable between their said first and second positions, the roof elements being, when they cover the passenger compartment, connected to each other and to respectively (and preferably) the front and rear parts of the body structure of the vehicle via locking means controlled by rigid rods extending along the roof elements and being driven by controlling means.
Such a solution was disclosed in WO-A-02/064391.
However, when the roof elements are in their second position, retracted roof, their holding into position is not as yet considered to be (sufficiently) ensured. In particular, their securing can not be controlled in a sufficiently appropriate manner in respect to the boot walls or more generally to the surrounding body structure of the vehicle, in order to efficiently hold them in this position for the desired length of time.